^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
AWG E-MAIL NEWS 2003-3
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
CONTENTS
1) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MONTHLY REVIEW: JANUARY 2003
2) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM ACTION ALERT: 1-31-03
3) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SPECIAL UPDATE: 2-4-03
4) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SPECIAL UPDATE: 2-6-03
5) PENROSE CONFERENCE
6) THE REVEL PROJECT: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SCIENCE TEACHERS TO DO EARTH
AND OCEAN RESEARCH IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN
7) POSITION OPENINGS
*???????De Pauw University: Three-year entry-level position in geology
???????*???University of Ottawa: Earth Systems Evolution
8) CONTACT INFORMATION
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue of E-mail News
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS MONTHLY REVIEW: JANUARY 2003
* FY 2003 Spending Package in Final House-Senate Conference
* Senate Opens with Climate Hearing
* Interior Reports on Domestic Oil and Gas
* Homeland Security Department Takes Shape
* EPA Withdraws Clinton-Era TMDL Rule
* Army Corps of Engineers and EPA Seek Wetlands Input
* Smithsonian Commission Urges Boost for Science
* Energy, Environment Initiatives in State of the Union Address
* AGI Supports Federal Research and Science Education Funding
* AGI Participates in USGS Listening Session
* Semester Intern Welcomed, Summer Applications Due March 15th
* List of Key Federal Register Notices
* New Material on Web Site
*** FY 2003 Spending Package in Final House-Senate Conference ***
As reported in a January 31st AGI alert, the Senate has passed an omnibus
spending package
for fiscal year (FY) 2003. The legislation (H.J. Res 2) incorporates all
11 remaining FY 2003
appropriations bills. Funding levels are $10 billion below those
considered (but not passed) by the
Senate during the last Congress. Among the cuts, the U.S. Geological
Survey would receive to
$888 million, well below its FY 2002 level of $914 million. The
Department of Energy's Fossil
Energy R&D program also would fall to levels below FY 2002. The
legislation would eliminate the
National Science Foundation's EarthScope project, which was requested by
the president and
funded in the previous House and Senate bills. The final FY 2003 funding
levels will be
determined by a House-Senate conference committee in the first two weeks
of February. The
alert particularly encouraged geoscientists who are constituents of House
or Senate
Appropriations Committee members to press for a restoration of these
programs. Civilian
agencies are currently funded at FY 2002 levels under a series of
continuing resolutions, the
most recent of which extends through February 7th. The alert is available
at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/fy2003_alert0103.html
*** Senate Opens with Climate Hearing ***
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) have introduced
legislation to
establish a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions. On
January 8th, McCain held
a hearing of the Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, which he
chairs, on the
legislation. Although the press focus has been mostly about the cap-and-
trade provision that
would regulate carbon dioxide in addition to other greenhouse gases, the
bill also includes
provisions for abrupt climate change research and establishing a National
Greenhouse Gas
Database administered by the Secretary of Commerce. Despite the hearing,
the Senate
parliamentarian decided not to refer the bill (S. 139) to McCain's
committee but instead referred it
to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. That committee's
chairman, Sen.
James Inhofe (R-OK), does not favor regulating carbon dioxide emissions
and is not likely to act
on the bill. Inhofe has announced his plans to hold hearings next month
on power plant emissions
and introduce legislation along the lines of President Bush's Clear Skies
Initiative aimed at
reducing sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions. More at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis108/climate.html.
*** Interior Reports on Domestic Oil and Gas ***
On January 16th, the Department of the Interior released a study of the
oil and natural gas
resources in several key western basins. The report, entitled "Scientific
Inventory of Onshore
Federal Lands' Oil and Gas Resources and Reserves and the Extent and
Nature of Restrictions
or Impediments to Their Development", was prepared as a collaborative
effort between Interior
and the Departments of Energy and Agriculture. The Energy Policy and
Conservation Act of 2000
requested that the study combine U.S. Geological Survey reserve estimates
with "the extent and
nature of any restrictions or impediments to the development of such
resources." The report does
not make any policy recommendations and is intended to serve as a
planning tool for Congress
as it resumes debate on national energy policy. The report is available
as a PDF document at
http://www.doi.gov/epca/.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a draft environmental
impact statement
outlining four possible options for oil leasing in the Northwest National
Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
(NPRA) Planning Area. Having indicated no preferred alternative, BLM has
opened a public
comment period until March 18th to seek input on the options presented,
including reasoning for
choosing one option over another. Alternative A would make all BLM lands
in the planning area
available for oil and gas leasing with few additional regulations to
protect animal habitats.
Alternative B would open 96% of the planning area but would have some
special areas to protect
animal habitats. Alternative C would open 47% of the planning area to
leasing and would have
several regulations to protect potentially sensitive areas. As is custom
in such reports, the last
alternative would be one of no action, or the status quo. The draft is
available at
http://www.ak.blm.gov/nwnpra/index.html.
*** Homeland Security Department Takes Shape ***
On January 24th, Vice President Dick Cheney swore in Tom Ridge as the
nation's first Secretary
of Homeland Security. His new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will
incorporate around
22 separate agencies and programs from throughout the federal government,
ranging from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service
to the Coast Guard. The reorganization will take months, but in the
meantime, the President's
Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST) officially
released a report on the
"contribution of science and technology to the DHS mission." Of key
interest to the geoscience
community is the fate of FEMA in the reorganization, an aspect not
covered by the PCAST report.
Information about the new department is available at http://www.dhs.gov.
The PCAST report is
available as a PDF document at
http://www.ostp.gov/PCAST/FINAL%20DHS%20REPORT%20WITH%20APPENDICES.pdf
(an
odd URL but, yes, it is correct; cut and paste each line separately into
your web browser --
clicking won't work).
In related news, House Appropriations Committee chairman Bill Young (R-
FL) announced a
reorganization of the 13 subcommittees in order to create a new
subcommittee to fund the
Department of Homeland Security, chaired by Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY).
The Transportation
and Treasury subcommittees are being combined under Rep. Ernest Istook
(R-OK), and a
number of other subcommittees will lose jurisdiction over agencies and
programs now within
DHS. Although Young reportedly has made a deal with Senate Appropriations
Committee
Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) to do the same, Stevens is waiting to
reorganize until after
completing work on the FY 2003 omnibus spending package. Earlier this
year, the House
established a Select Committee on Homeland Security, chaired by Rep.
Christopher Cox (R-CA),
to handle DHS oversight responsibilities. The Senate has left
jurisdiction for homeland security
where it was in the Committee on Governmental Affairs, chaired by Sen.
Susan Collins (R-ME).
*** EPA Withdraws Clinton-Era TMDL Rule ***
The Bush administration is taking steps to formally withdraw the July
2000 final rule revising the
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program originally proposed by the
Clinton administration to
implement the Clean Water Act. The 2000 rule required the Environmental
Protection Agency
(EPA) to approve state plans and step in if states failed to develop
acceptable plans. Shortly
after the last administration released its final TMDL rule, Congress
passed legislation prohibiting
the EPA from implementing the rule. An EPA press release notes: "The 2000
rule was
determined to be unworkable based on reasons described by thousands of
comments and was
challenged in court by some two dozen parties." EPA Administrator
Christie Whitman has
indicated that the agency will continue to work with states under the
existing TMDL program. EPA
is currently working on crafting a revised TMDL program that gives states
more flexibility and
does not include the EPA approval requirements that were incorporated
into the Clinton-era rule.
Additional information on the TMDL program is available at
http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/.
*** Army Corps of Engineers and EPA Seek Wetlands Input ***
The EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have made three major
announcements recently to
provide better guidelines and definitions for wetland mitigation. These
actions come in response
to a 2001 Supreme Court decision and are intended to improve wetland
mitigation coordination
among federal, state and local agencies. At the end of December, the two
agencies released
the National Wetlands Mitigation Action Plan "to ensure effective,
scientifically-based restoration
of wetlands impacted by development activities." The plan outlines 17
action items for agencies
to undertake over the next two years to improve the effectiveness of
wetland mitigation programs.
On January 10th, the two agencies jointly published a solicitation in the
Federal Register seeking
public comment on the definition of "waters of the United States" and the
implications of the 2001
Supreme Court decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v.
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers for federal authority under the Clean Water Act to regulate
certain isolated wetlands.
More on the National Wetlands Mitigation Action Plan at
http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/index.html#mitigation.
Additional information on the
announcement regarding definitions of waters subject to the Clean Water
Act is available at
http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/swanccnav.html.
*** Smithsonian Commission Urges Boost for Science ***
On January 7th, a blue-ribbon commission on science at the Smithsonian
Institution delivered its
final report to Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small and the Board of
Regents. The report
recommends that steps be taken to "reverse the long-term trend of
declining support and relative
neglect of scientific units." Science at the Smithsonian was also the
subject of recent reports by
the National Research Council and the National Academy of Public
Administration, both of which
came to similar conclusions about the need to build up science
capabilities and improve
coordination.
One chapter of the report is devoted to assessing the qualifications
needed for leaders of the
institution's science units. The report singles out the National Museum
of Natural History as
having been plagued by "long-term instability in the Office of the
Director." According to the
Washington Post, the museum has had 11 permanent and acting directors in
the last 22 years.
The newest director was appointed on January 30th: Cristan Samper, a 37-
year-old Costa Rican
conservation biologist who has been deputy director of the Smithsonian's
Tropical Research
Institute in Panama for the past two years. Before that, he founded a
biodiversity research
institute in Colombia. Samper, who received his Ph.D. from Harvard, will
take over from
paleontologist Douglas Erwin, who has been serving as acting director.
The report and information about the commission is available at
http://www.si.edu/sciencecommission/. A longer summary of the report was
prepared by the
American Institute of Biological Sciences and is available in their
January 21st Public Policy
Report at http://spars.aibs.org/publicpolicy/index.html.
*** Energy, Environment Initiatives in State of the Union Address ***
Although President Bush's State of the Union Address on January 28th
focused heavily on
national security and Iraq, the president also discussed energy and
environmental issues. The
president called on Congress to pass his comprehensive energy plan, Clear
Skies initiative to
reduce power-plant emissions, and Healthy Forests initiative to prevent
catastrophic wildfires.
He argued that they should do so "for the good of both our environment
and our economy." He
also announced a major new Freedom Fuel initiative, proposing $1.2
billion to promote energy
independence through "research funding so that America can lead the world
in developing clean,
hydrogen-powered automobiles." At least a portion of that funding will go
to research associated
with traditional fuels used to provide the power needed to produce
hydrogen in a usable form.
Details on the new initiative will be included as part of the president's
FY 2004 budget being
released on February 3rd. A series of AGI special updates on the budget
request will go out later
this week. President Bush's complete State of the Union Address is
available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/.
*** AGI Supports Federal Research and Science Education Funding ***
AGI joined with other scientific and engineering societies on a January
3rd letter to President
Bush, encouraging him to "reverse the decline in science and engineering
support that threatens
our status as the world's leader in these areas, placing our nation at
great future risk." The letter
argues that "renewed attention to federal research budgets is central to
achieving the economic
and military security goals you have identified for your administration
and the nation." It urges
increased support for programs within the Departments of Agriculture,
Commerce, Defense,
Energy, and the Interior along with NASA and the National Science
Foundation. The letter was
signed by more than 30 organizations, representing more than 1.5 million
scientists and
engineers.
AGI also co-sponsored letters to members of Congress requesting support
for the Department of
Education's Math and Science Partnerships program, which is the successor
to the Eisenhower
Professional Development program providing funds for teachers to receive
professional
development training. The presidential flagship No Child Left Behind Act
replaced the
Eisenhower program with MSP when it was enacted a year ago, authorizing
$450 million for the
program. However, MSP was only funded at $12.5 million in FY 2002, down
from $485 million for
the Eisenhower program. The letter specifies a $100 million funding level
that triggers an
allotment to every state dedicated solely for math and science education
programs.
*** AGI Participates in USGS Listening Session ***
On January 29-30, AGI participated in a U.S. Geological Survey Customer
Listening Session in
downtown Washington to help the agency "ensure that our science is
connected, available, and
targeted to meet the needs of our partners and the public in the critical
areas of public health and
the vitality of all living resources, public safety and reducing the
risks and damages from natural
hazards, and public prosperity and ensuring the availability and
knowledge of the resources
needed for economic security." Approximately 40 entities were
represented, including other
federal agencies, scientific societies, professional and trade
associations, environmental groups,
and others. AGI member society American Institute of Professional
Geologists was one of those
represented. For organizations that could not attend the session, written
statements may be
submitted until February 7th to conversation@usgs.gov .
*** Semester Intern Welcomed, Summer Internship Applications Accepted ***
AGI welcomes Charna Meth as our AGI/AAPG Geoscience and Policy Intern for
the spring
semester. Charna, who holds a master's degree in geology from the
University of Texas at
Austin, will be spending nearly four months with AGI attending
congressional hearings,
researching policy issues, and writing issue updates for the program's
web site. We gratefully
acknowledge stipend support for the internship provided by the American
Association of
Petroleum Geologists.
AGI is seeking outstanding geoscience students and recent graduates with
a strong interest in
federal science policy for a twelve-week geoscience and public policy
internship in summer 2003.
Interns will gain a first-hand understanding of the legislative process
and the operation of
executive branch agencies. They will also hone both their writing and
Web-publishing skills.
Stipends for the summer interns are made possible through the generous
support of the AIPG
Foundation. Applications must be postmarked by March 15, 2003. For more
information, please
visit http://www.agiweb.org/gapac/intern.html.
*** List of Key Federal Register Notices ***
A recent feature of the AGI Monthly Review is a summary of Federal
Register announcements
regarding federal regulations, agency meetings, and other notices of
interest to the geoscience
community. Entries are listed in chronological order and show the federal
agency involved, the
title, and the citation. The Federal Register is available online at
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont02.html.
To facilitate public input in rulemaking, several federal agencies have
collaborated to launch
http://www.regulation.gov where you can find, review, and submit comments
on Federal
documents that are open for comment and published in the Federal
Register. Also recently
launched is a web site for science within the federal government:
http://science.gov.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Issuance of final rules on Water
Quality Trading Policy
that describes ways that water quality trading programs may be aligned
with the Clean Water Act
and implementing regulations, and describes elements of environmentally
sound trading
programs. Vol. 68, No. 8 (13 January 2003): p. 1608-1613.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and EPA. Issuance of an advance
notice of proposed
rulemaking in order to obtain early comment on issues associated with the
scope of waters that
are subject to the Clean Water Act. Vol. 68, No. 10 (15 January 2003): p.
1991-1998.
Minerals Management Service (MMS). Notice of future meetings of the
Royalty Policy Committee
of the Minerals Management Advisory Board in New Orleans, LA, on March
19-20, 2003. Vol. 68,
No. 18 (28 January 2003): p. 4230.
Every month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) releases
final rules on
Modified Base (1-percent annual-chance) Flood Elevations for several
communities that are used
to calculate flood insurance premium rates related to the National Flood
Insurance Program. This
month, these announcements were made in No. 8 (p. 1540-1554, 1581-1586)
and No. 12 (p.
2477-2480).
*** New Material on Web Site ***
The following updates and reports were added to the Government Affairs
portion of AGI's web
site http://www.agiweb.org/gap since the last monthly update:
Action Alert: Final Action on FY 2003 Appropriations Could Cut Geoscience
Programs (1-31-03)
Overview of Fiscal Year 2003 Geoscience Appropriations (1-24-03)
Climate Change Policy Overview (1-17-03)
Energy Policy Overview (1-17-03)
State Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution (1-7-03)
*****************************
Monthly review prepared by Margaret A. Baker, David Applegate, and
AGI/AAPG
Geoscience Policy Intern Charna Meth.
Sources: American Institute of Biological Sciences, Bureau of Land
Management, Department of
the Interior, E&E Daily, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal
Register, Greenwire,
Smithsonian Institution, Union of Concern Scientists, United States
Senate, U.S. Geological
Survey, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington Post, White House
Office of Science and
Technology Policy.
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
1111
2) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM ACTION ALERT: 1-31-03
*** Final Action on FY 2003 Appropriations Could Cut Geoscience Programs
***
IN A NUTSHELL: With the president's release of the fiscal year (FY) 2004
budget looming, the
Senate has passed legislation incorporating all 11 remaining FY 2003
appropriations bills. The
omnibus package cuts funding by $10 billion below the levels considered
(but not passed) by the
Senate during the last Congress. Among the cuts, the U.S. Geological
Survey would drop back to
$888 million, well below its FY 2002 levels. The Department of Energy's
Fossil Energy R&D
program also would fall to levels below FY 2002. For the National
Science Foundation, the
Senate's omnibus bill eliminates the EarthScope project, which was
requested by the president
and funded in the previous House and Senate bills. The final FY 2003
funding levels will be
determined by a House-Senate conference committee in the next several
weeks. Now is the time
to contact your member of Congress and encourage support for these and
other geoscience
programs. If you live in the district of a member of the House or Senate
Appropriations
Committees (listed below), these individuals particularly need to hear
from constituents that
geoscience programs are an important investment for the future.
**********************
The Senate has approved an omnibus budget package (H.J. Res. 2) that
rolls together the 11
remaining fiscal year (FY) 2003 appropriations bills funding non-defense
federal programs.
Continuing resolutions have supported these agencies at FY 2002 levels
since the new fiscal
year began on October 1st. The final 69-29 vote on January 23rd capped
nearly two weeks of
debate during which more than 100 amendments were offered, many by
Democrats seeking to
restore funding for programs cut by $10 billion to make the package fit
within the White House
endorsed discretionary spending cap of $750 billion. The final Senate
bill also contained a
number of "riders", legislative provisions not directly related to
spending levels. For example,
provisions were included to continue bans on oil and gas drilling in the
Great Lakes and offshore
California. Those provisions were introduced by Senators George Voinovich
(R-OH) and Barbara
Boxer (D-CA), respectively. Also included was a provision sponsored by
Senator Jeff Bingaman
(D-NM) to extend the president's authority to operate the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve.
The dust is still settling on the actual funding levels for federal
programs under the Senate version
in part due to a series of cuts made to offset spending increases agreed
upon in the last day of
debate. Thus, the funding levels that appear in the bill are higher than
what was actually
approved. Provisions at the end of the legislation provide first a 1.6%
cut across all programs,
followed by a second 1.3% across-the-board cut. Until the House and
Senate draft a final FY
2003 omnibus bill, there still remains the possibility of additional
targeted cuts.
*** Geoscience Funding Levels ***
Details are still missing for many geoscience-related programs, in part
because no accompanying
explanatory report has been distributed at this point, but general
numbers are available.
Additional information, as it becomes available, at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap/legis107/appropsfy2003.html.
The Senate omnibus bill would provide the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
with a total of $888
million for FY 2003 (the bill language shows $915 million, which is then
subject to the combined
2.9% across-the-board cut). The FY 2003 Interior and Related Agencies
bill (H.R. 5093) passed
by the House in the last Congress would have provided USGS with $928
million. The president
requested $867 million, and actual funding for FY 2002 was $914 million.
Because agencies like
the Survey have been operating at FY 2002 levels through the first four
months of the new fiscal
year, any cuts would be compressed into the remaining months, further
increasing their severity.
The Senate provided the Department of Energy's Fossil Energy Research and
Development
activities with a total of $608 million ($626 million less the 2.9% cut).
In last session's House-
passed bill, the program would have received $664 million. Both levels
are higher than the $548
million requested in the president's budget.
According to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Legislative
and Public Affairs,
which has calculated how the across-the-board cuts will effect specific
funding levels, the agency
will receive a total of just under $5.2 billion under the Senate
proposal. NSF's Research and
Related Activities account, which funds the disciplinary directorates,
would receive close to $4
billion, an increase of nearly 12% from last year's allocation. Within
that, the Geosciences
Directorate would receive $671 million, up 10%.
These increases for the research accounts, however, are offset by a cut
of nearly 58% to the
Major Research Equipment and Facilities (MREFC) account, slated to
receive $58.5 million. This
funding level does not include funds for any new initiatives, including
EarthScope
(http://www.earthscope.org), the first earth-science project to be
considered for this account. The
House bill from last Congress recommended $5.42 billion for NSF,
including $159 million for the
MREFC account of which $40 million was for EarthScope.
*** House-Senate Conference ***
A House-Senate conference committee will now take the Senate omnibus
package and work out
the final version. According to sources on the Hill, the conferees will
begin meeting next week
with the goal of finishing before the Presidents Day recess in February.
The Senate has
appointed all the members of its Appropriations Committee to the
conference. The House
conferees have not yet been named but are certain to consist of the more
senior members of the
House Appropriations Committee.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) has voiced
concern that the
conference will not be a smooth process, with the possibility that the
House might not even take
up the Senate bill if it is viewed to have too many legislative riders.
Given that the government
has been funded through a series of stop-gap measures for the first four
months of the fiscal
year, it seems unlikely that the House will flat out reject the Senate
bill. But it does seem highly
likely that the final bill will look very different than the current
Senate omnibus legislation.
*** Action Needed ***
Please call, fax, or email your representative this week to urge then to
support the funding levels
for these geoscience-related programs in the House bills from last
session, including support for
including EarthScope
within NSF.
The U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121 will connect you to your
representative's office. E-
mail correspondence can be sent through http://www.house.gov/writerep/
and direct telephone
numbers can be obtained at http://clerk.house.gov/members/mcapdir.php.
Below are the names,
fax numbers and e-mail addresses, when available, for members of the
House and Senate
appropriations committees. If your representative or senator is a member
of these committees,
your action as a constituent is particularly needed.
*** List of House and Senate Appropriations Committee Members ***
** House **
Robert Aderholt (R-AL, 4th) 202/225-5587
robert.aderholt@mail.house.gov
Marion Berry (D-AR, 1st) 202/225-5602
Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA, 2nd) 202/225-2203
Henry Bonilla (R-TX, 23rd) 202/226-1169
david.bonior@mail.house.gov
Allen Boyd (D-FL, 2nd) 202/225-5615 rep.boyd@mail.house.gov
James Clyburn (D-SC, 6th) 202/225-2313 jclyburn@mail.house.gov
Bud Cramer, Jr. (D-AL, 5th) 202/225-4392 budmail@mail.house.gov
Ander Crenshaw (R-FL, 4th) 202/225-2504
John Abney Culberson (R-TX, 7th) 202/225-4381
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT, 3rd) 202/225-4890
delauro.ct03@mail.house.gov
Norman Dicks (D-WA, 6th) 202/226-1176
John Doolittle (R-CA, 4th) 202/225-5444 doolittle@mail.house.gov
Chet Edwards (D-TX, 11th) 202/225-0350
Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO, 8th) 202/226-0326
joann.emerson@mail.house.gov
Sam Farr (D-CA, 17th) 202/225-6791 samfarr@mail.house.gov
Chaka Fattah (D-PA, 2nd) 202/225-5392
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ,11th) 202/225-3186
rondey.frelinghuysen@mail.house.gov
Virgil Goode (I-VA, 5th) 202/225-5681 rep.goode@mail.house.gov
Kay Granger (R-TX, 12th) 202/225-5683
texas.granger@mail.house.gov
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY, 26th) 202/226-0774 mhinchey@mail.house.gov
David Hobson (R-OH, 7th) 202/225-1984
Steny Hoyer (D-MD, 5th) 202/225-4300
Ernest Istook, Jr, (R-OK, 5th) 202/226-1463 istook@mail.house.gov
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL, 2nd) 202/225-0899
comments@jessejacksonjr.org
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH, 9th) 202/225-7711
rep.kaptur@mail.house.gov
Patrick Kennedy (D-RI, 1st) 202/225-3290
patrick.kennedy@mail.house.gov
Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI, 15th) 202/225-5730
public.kilpatrick@mail.house.gov
Jack Kingston (R-GA, 1st) 202/226-2269
jack.kingston@mail.house.gov
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI, 11th) 202/226-2356
rep.knollenberg@mail.house.gov
Jim Kolbe (R-AZ, 5th) 202/225-0378 jim.kolbe@mail.house.gov
Ray LaHood (R-IL, 18th) 202/225-9249
Tom Latham (R-IA, 5th) 202/225-3301 latham.ia05@mail.house.gov
Jerry Lewis (R-CA, 40th) 202/225-6498
Nita Lowey (D-NY, 18th) 202/225-0546
nita.lowey@mail.house.gov
Alan Mollohan (D-WV, 1st) 202/225-7564
James Moran (D-VA, 8th) 202/225-0017
John Murtha (D-PA, 12th) 202/225-5709 murtha@mail.house.gov
George Nethercutt, Jr. (R-WA, 5th) 202/225-3392
george.nethercutt@mail.house.gov
Anne Northup (R-KY, 3rd) 202/225-5776
rep.northup@mail.house.gov
David Obey (D-WI. 7th)
John Olver (D-MA, 1st) 202/226-1224
Ed Pastor (D-AZ, 2nd) 202/225-1655 ed.pastor@mail.house.gov
John Peterson (R-PA, 5th) 202/225-5796
David Price (D-NC, 4th) 202/225-2014
david.price@mail.house.gov
Ralph Regula (R-OH, 16th) 202/225-3059
Harold Rogers (R-KY, 5th) 202/225-0940 talk2hal@mail.house.gov
Steven Rothman (D-NJ, 9th) 202/225-5851
steven.rothman@mail.house.gov
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA, 33rd) 202/226-0350
Martin Olav Sabo (D-MN, 5th) 202/225-4886
martin.sabo@mail.house.gov
José Serrano (D-NY, 16th) 202/225-6001 jserrano@mail.house.gov
Don Sherwood (R-PA, 10th) 202/225-9594
Michael Simpson (R-ID, 2nd) 202/225-8216
Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL, 10th) 202/225-0837 rep.kirk@mail.house.gov
Charles Taylor (R-NC, 11th) repcharles.taylor@mail.house.gov
Todd Tiahrt (R-KS, 4th) 202/225-3486 tiahrt@mail.house.gov
Peter Visclosky (D-IN, 1st) 202/225-2493
David Vitter (R-LA, 1st) 202/225-0739
david.vitter@mail.house.gov
James Walsh (R-NY, 25th) 202/225-4042
rep.james.walsh@mail.house.gov
Zach Wamp (R-TN, 3rd) 202/225-3494
Dave Weldon (R-FL, 15th) 202/225-3516
Roger Wicker (R-MS, 1st) 202/225-3549
roger.wicker@mail.house.gov
C. W. Young (R-FL, 10th) 202/225-9764
bill.young@mail.house.gov
** Senate **
Robert F. Bennett (R-UT) 202/228-1168
senator@bennett.senate.gov
Christopher S. Bond (R-MO) 202/224-8149 kit_bond@bond.senate.gov
Sam Brownback (R-KS) 202/228-1265
sam_brownback@brownback.senate.gov
Conrad Burns (R-MT) 202/224-8594 conrad_burns@burns.senate.gov
Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) 202/228-4467 senator_byrd@byrd.senate.gov
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) 202/224-1933
hotissues@campbell.senate.gov
Thad Cochran (R-MS) 202/224-9450 senator@cochran.senate.gov
Larry Craig (R-ID) 202/228-1067 larry_craig@craig.senate.gov
Mike Dewine (R-OH) 202/224-6519 senator_dewine@dewine.senate.gov
Pete V. Domenici (R-NM) 202/228-0900
senator_domenici@domenici.senate.gov
Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) 202/224-1193 senator@dorgan.senate.gov
Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) 202/228-0400 dick@durbin.senate.gov
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) 202/228-3954
senator@feinstein.senate.gov
Judd Gregg (R-NH) 202/224-4952 mailbox@gregg.senate.gov
Tom Harkin (D-IA) 202/224-9369 tom_harkin@harkin.senate.gov
Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC) 202/224-4293
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) 202/224-0776
senator@hutchison.senate.gov
Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) 202/224-6747
senator@inouye.senate.gov
Tim Johnson (D-SD) 202/228-5765 tim@johnson.senate.gov
Herb Kohl (D-WI) 202/224-9787 senator_kohl@kohl.senate.gov
Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) 202/224-9735
senator@landrieu.senate.gov
Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) 202/224-3479
senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) 202/224-2499 senator@mcconnell.senate.gov
Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) 202/224-8858
senator@mikulski.senate.gov
Patty Murray (D-WA) 202/224-0238 senator_murray@murray.senate.gov
Harry Reid (D-NV) 202/224-7327 senator_reid@reid.senate.gov
Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) 202/224-3416
senator@shelby.senate.gov
Arlen Specter (R-PA) 202/228-1229
senator_specter@specter.senate.gov
Ted Stevens (R-AK) 202/224-2354
senator_stevens@stevens.senate.gov
*****************************
Update prepared by Margaret A. Baker, AGI Government Affairs Program
Sources: E&E News, Greenwire, Library of Congress -- Thomas, Senate
Appropriations Committee, Washington Post, and Washington Times.
2222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222
2222
3) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SPECIAL UPDATE: 2-4-03
*** The President's FY 2004 Budget Request: U.S. Geological Survey ***
IN A NUTSHELL: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) would receive $895.5
million in President
Bush's fiscal year (FY) 2004 budget request, more than the president
proposed a year ago but
2% below the level at which the Survey is currently funded. Where last
year's proposed cuts
focused on water programs, this year the focus was on mineral resource
assessments, seismic
networks, mapping research and geospatial data collection. Biological
programs are the only
ones to receive more funding than either last year's request or current
levels. This update is the
first in a series describing the president's budget request. Subsequent
ones will cover the
Department of Energy, other Interior agencies, EPA, NASA, NOAA, NSF, and
the Smithsonian.
Information on previous budget requests and appropriations can be found
at
http://www.agiweb.org/gap.
**********************
Interpreting the president's budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2004 is
complicated by the fact that
there is no final FY 2003 budget in place to compare against. Four months
into the fiscal year,
Congress is still working away at a final compromise as discussed in an
AGI alert sent out last
week. As a result, this new request is presented entirely in terms of
last year's presidential
request. Meanwhile, federal agencies are being funded under a series of
continuing resolutions at
FY 2002 levels. Wherever possible, this update provides numbers as
changes both with respect
to the president's last request and in terms of the FY 2002 levels at
which the agencies are
actually functioning. We apologize in advance for any confusion that
results.
Looking at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as a whole, this year's
request is much more
favorable to the agency than last year's request but still represents a
step backward from FY
2002 levels. The total request is $895.5 million, down from $913.9
million in FY 2002 (-2%) but up
from the $867.3 million request in FY 2003 (+3.3%). Last year's request
was hardest on water
programs as the administration sought large cuts and transfers to other
agencies. This year, the
administration has restored most of those cuts. Transfers are not
mentioned.
One interesting shift from past years is the inclusion in the request of
several projects added
during the congressional appropriations process in previous years.
Typically, the administration
strips those projects out of the following year's request, leaving it to
Congress to put them in
again. While this game continues for many congressional add-ons,
projects for surficial mapping
in the Great Lakes region, subsidence studies in Louisiana and
state/local access to geospatial
data made the jump into presidential favor.
In all cases, the many increases and decreases described here do not take
into account the
uncontrollable costs (salaries, maintenance, etc.) that increase each
year and cut into funds
available for actual program activities. Only 40% of those uncontrollable
costs are covered by the
budget request, and the rest must come out of program funds. In addition,
the White House Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) has instituted across-the-board cuts to
reform all information
technology (IT) activities in the federal government. Science-intensive
agencies like USGS take a
disproportionate share of such cuts -- the Department of the Interior as
a whole faces $66 million
total reduction of which the USGS share is $10.4 million (for comparison,
the Survey's budget
makes up less than 7% of the department's total expenditures).
*** Geologic Programs ***
Overall, geologic programs would receive $221.6 million, $11 million
below FY 2002 levels (-5%)
and $3.1 million below last year's request (-1.4%). In addition to
cutting funds for mineral
resource assessments and seismic networks as described below, the request
also calls for the
survey's energy resources program to use existing funds to provide
scientific information
regarding methane hydrates to the Minerals Management Service.
* Mineral Resources *
The biggest hit in the geologic discipline goes to the Mineral Resources
Program, which would
receive a $9.1 million cut. This reduction is on top of $3.6 million in
proposed reductions from the
president's FY 2003 request ($1.3 million for studies of aggregates and
industrial minerals, $1.5
million for the Alaska data-at-risk project, and $0.8 million for the
minerals information team).
Together, these cuts represent a total decrease of $12.7 million, or
roughly 25%, below FY
2002's level of $55.7 million. As with other programs, such cuts are in
addition to the budgetary
erosion due to increases in uncontrollable costs. The proposed cuts would
eliminate a
global mineral resource assessment currently underway as well as
geochemical process studies
on the effects of toxic materials associated with mineral deposits.
Assessment activities for
federal and local land managers would be reduced, among other activities.
* Advanced National Seismic System *
The other major cut to geologic programs is a $1.9 million decrease for
the Advanced National
Seismic System (ANSS). The program has never come close to the funding
levels called for in
the last reauthorization of the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction
Program (NEHRP). That
legislation, signed into law in November 2000, authorized $170 million
over five years. The
requested cut in this year's budget would eliminate nearly half of the
increases that previous
budgets had provided toward that lofty goal. On February 27th, AGI will
be co-sponsoring a
congressional briefing on NEHRP, which is again up for reauthorization
this year.
* Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program *
In last year's request, this program was slated for a $6 million cut, the
bulk of which is restored by
a $.4.5 million increase in the FY 2004 request. That still represents a
$1.5 million cut below FY
2002 levels. The budget request also includes $0.5 million to support an
ongoing surficial
mapping project in the central Great Lakes region. The project, funded at
that level in FY 2002,
was not included in the president's FY 2003 budget request.
*** Water Programs ***
As noted above, the budget request restores most -- but not all -- of the
cuts proposed in last
year's request. Overall, water programs would receive $200.1 million,
still $6.3 million below FY
2002 levels (-3.1%) but $22.3 million above what the president asked for
last year (+12.5%).
The National Water-Quality Assessment program would receive an increase
of $6.3 million,
restoring proposed FY 2003 cuts and resulting in a $0.5 million boost
above FY 2002 levels. The
Toxic Substances Hydrology program, last year proposed for cutbacks and a
transfer of what
remained to the National Science Foundation, would receive an $11 million
boost, still $2.9 million
below its FY 2002 level. The National Streamflow Information program --
the network of 7,000
streamgages -- would receive a $2.1 million increase, offsetting a $2
million proposed decrease in
FY 2003. The National Water Information System would receive a $1.8
million increase over last
year's budget, which had cut out a number of congressionally specified
projects. The net increase
over FY 2002 is $0.6 million.
The budget does not even mention the Water Resources Research Institutes,
which were zeroed
out in the president's FY 2003 request and remain zeroed out in this
request. These institutes
were funded at $6 million in FY 2002 -- the level at which they are still
funded under continuing
resolutions. Congressionally popular, they are a perennial political
football between the White
House and Capitol Hill.
*** Mapping Programs ***
Overall, mapping programs would receive $120.5 million, $12.7 million
below FY 2002 levels
(-11%) and $8.8 million below last year's request (-7.3%). The request
would eliminate the
Center for Integration of Natural Disaster Information (CINDI), a $1.4
million cut, along with $2.8
million in cuts for "lower-priority mapping research." A $4.4 million cut
to the National Map
program is supposed to "transition" the program from data collection
toward a focus on standard
setting. This shift in focus is cited for several other USGS programs as
the administration seeks
to decrease the Survey's role in data collection and shift toward
analysis and dissemination
functions.
The budget provides a $3 million increase for AmericaView, "a successful
pilot project that
increased the ability of a State-user community to quickly access and
apply geographical data."
The increase would restore a $3 million cut in the FY 2003 request. This
project, which began as
OhioView, was initially funded through the auspices of Rep. Ralph Regular
(R-OH) when he
chaired the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee.
*** Biological Programs ***
Biology is the only discipline whose budget request is larger than either
the FY 2003 request (by
$8.4 million or 5%) or the FY 2002 actual level (by $2.7 million or
1.6%). Totaling $168.9 million,
biology programs would receive increases for research related to invasive
species ($4.6 million
over FY 2003 request), chronic wasting disease ($1 million), and
amphibians ($0.5 million), and
$1.3 million for the Science on the Interior Landscape initiative,
funding priority research areas
identified by sister bureaus.
*** Additional Budget Information ***
The Department of the Interior's "Budget in Brief" document is available
on the web at
http://www.doi.gov/budget/2004/04Hilites/toc.html. More detailed
information is available from the
USGS Budget Office at http://www.usgs.gov/budget/2004/.
*****************************
Update prepared by David Applegate, AGI Government Affairs Program
Sources: Department of the Interior budget materials.
3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
3333
4) AGI GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS SPECIAL UPDATE: 2-6-03
*** The President's FY 2004 Budget Request: National Science Foundation
***
IN A NUTSHELL: The National Science Foundation (NSF) proposes a $5.48
billion budget for
fiscal year (FY) 2004, up 9% from the previous year's request and nearly
15% above current
funding. Within that total, the Geosciences Directorate would receive
$688 million, down 0.5%
from the FY 2003 request which included a number of large proposed
transfers from other
agencies, which were rejected by Congress and not sought again. Taking
away those transfers in
the last request, the new budget represents an 11.5% increase and would
be nearly 13% above
FY 2002's actual level. Within GEO, the Earth Sciences Division would
receive $144 million,
down 5.8% from the FY 2003 request but up 14.3% above FY 2002.
Atmospheric Sciences would
receive $230 million (-5% below '03 request but +13.8% over '02 actual).
Ocean Sciences would
receive $314 million (-1.7% below '03, +11.7% above '02). The EarthScope
project would receive
$45 million from NSF's Major Research Equipment and Facilities
Construction account. If FY
2003 funding comes through ($35 million was proposed), this new request
would be the second
installment covering the capital costs for this major earth science
initiative. NSF's Educational
programs are slated for a 8.5% boost to $938 million. A previous special
update covered the U.S.
Geological Survey. Subsequent ones will cover the Department of Energy,
other Interior
agencies, EPA, NASA, NOAA, and the Smithsonian. Information on previous
budget requests
and appropriations can be found at http://www.agiweb.org/gap.
*******************************
For the many researchers, educators and students who receive funding from
the National
Science Foundation (NSF), Director Rita Colwell had good news at a Monday
afternoon briefing
to unveil the agency's fiscal year (FY) 2004 budget request. In a year
when the federal
government's non-defense discretionary spending is set for a modest 4%
increase over the
previous year's request, NSF would receive a 9% boost to $5.48 billion.
That amount is almost
15% more than the actual FY 2002 level at which the agency is currently
being funded under the
latest in a series of continuing resolutions. Within the total request,
$4.1 billion would go to the
Research and Related Activities (RRA) account that funds the disciplinary
directorates (+8.5%
over the FY 2003 request; +13.5% over FY 2002 actual) and $938 million
would go to Education
and Human Resources (+3.3%, +8.3%). The Major Research Equipment and
Facilities
Construction (MREFC) account, which funds capital costs associated with
large-scale facilities
such as telescopes or networked installations, is slated to receive $202
million, a whopping +60%
over the previous request and +76% over FY 2002. The request includes $45
million for the
second installment for EarthScope -- $35 million was requested for the
first installment in FY
2003, which has yet to be approved by Congress.
While this funding increase over last year's request is sizable, it is
less than the amount
authorized last year by legislation, signed by President Bush in December
that would put the
agency on a budget-doubling track similar to that achieved by the
National Institutes of Health
over the past five years. When asked about the disparity at the budget
briefing, Colwell
responded that the FY 2004 budget was already formulated when the
doubling legislation was
signed into law. She went on the say that the $5.48 billion is still
progress towards the
legislation's goal.
Congress is still working out the finer details to the FY 2003 budget,
but the Senate did pass an
omnibus appropriations bill (H.J. Res. 2) last month that paves the way
for final negotiations
between the House and Senate. Although most of the comparisons in the
NSF budget
documents refer to last year's budget request, the Senate numbers from
last year can give us an
idea of how the FY 2004 request would stack up against the likely FY 2003
allocation. The
Senate omnibus would provide NSF with $5.2 billion, meaning that the FY
2004 request would
provide a 4% increase. For the Geosciences Directorate, this year's
request would be nearly
2.5% higher than that provided in the omnibus legislation. The real
winner would be the MREFC
account, which was drastically reduced in the Senate bill down to $59
million, a third of what is
proposed for FY 2004.
*** Geosciences Directorate ***
Interpreting numbers for the Geosciences Directorate (GEO) -- which
includes Atmospheric,
Oceanic and Earth Science Divisions -- is complicated by the
administration's attempt last year to
transfer several programs from other agencies into the directorate. Large
apparent increases in
last year's request masked nearly flat funding for actual programs. After
Congress showed little
interest in the transfers (from EPA, NOAA, and USGS), the administration
has dropped the idea,
and all the funds requested for GEO this time go toward base programs. As
elsewhere in the
budget, understanding the numbers is best done relative to the actual FY
2002 levels.
With that preamble, the president has requested $688 million for GEO,
down 0.5% from the FY
2003 request but nearly 13% above FY 2002 actual. Taking away the
transfers from the FY 2003
request, this new request would represent an 11.5% increase for GEO
programs. That
percentage increase is more in line with the increases being provided for
the other disciplinary
research directorates. For comparison, the Biological Sciences
Directorate is up 7% from last
year's request to $562 million, the Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Directorate is up nearly
13% to $1.1 billion, the Engineering Directorate is up almost 8% to $435
million, the Computer
and Information Science and Engineering Directorate is up 11% to $584
million, and the Social,
Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate would grow 8% to $212
million.
Within GEO, the Earth Sciences Division (EAR) would receive $144 million,
down 5.8% from the
FY 2003 request but up 14.3% above FY 2002. Atmospheric Sciences would
receive $230 million
(-5% below '03 request but +13.8% over '02 actual). Ocean Sciences would
receive $314 million
(-1.7% below '03, +11.7% above '02).
One trend for GEO is a growing emphasis on Science and Technology Centers
(STC), which
were initiated in the late 1980s. For GEO, there is a 233% increase for
STC -- the budget request
specifies three centers including the Sustainability of Semi-Arid
Hydrology and Riparian Areas
(SAHRA) center based at the University of Arizona and the National Center
for Earth-surface
Dynamics (NCED) based at the University of Minnesota-- to total $10.7
million. It should be
noted, however, that part of the increase in directorate support is due
to a transfer of accounting
from a general Integrated Activities account in the past to the managing
directorate.
*** Major Research Equipment & Facilities Construction Account ***
At several hearings last year, members of Congress voiced concern over
the selection process
for projects funded through the MREFC account. In the Senate
appropriations process, concerns
over the NSF's large-project management structure led to the threat not
to release funds for the
initiation of EarthScope (the only new MREFC project being funded) until
a high-level oversight
position was filled. The impact of this congressional scrutiny can be
seen in the budget
documents prepared for FY 2004, which include lengthy management and
justification sections
for all projects -- existing and proposed for future years -- within the
MREFC account. Each
project has a detailed accounting of how long it will be funded through
this account, and how the
research directorates will fund associated activities during the
project's life span. According to the
budget book, EarthScope has a life span of 15 years from its completion,
which is planned for FY
2007. At that time, research funding through GEO would grow to $11
million and remain at
approximately $13 million for the rest of the project's life span.
The budget documents also clearly state the priorities for MREFC funding
in FY 2004.
EarthScope is one of seven projects listed as "First Priority." For FY
2004, the $45 million
requested for EarthScope in the MREFC account would support three of its
components: the
United States Seismic Array (USArray), the San Andreas Fault Observatory
at Depth (SAFOD),
and the Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO). For more on EarthScope, visit
http://www.earthscope.org.
In addition to the inclusion of EarthScope, the MREFC account has a
request of $26 million for
the final installment of High-Performance Instrumental Airborne Platform
for Environmental
Research (HIAPER), a high-altitude aircraft used for atmospheric
research. Also included in the
request is a first payment of Phase I of the National Ecological
Observatory Network (NEON) that
was originally proposed in the FY 2001 budget but not funded. Geoscience
projects listed in the
budget for future MREFC support are Scientific Ocean Drilling (beginning
in FY 2005) and Ocean
Observatories (beginning FY 2006).
*** Polar Programs ***
The Office of Polar Programs (OPP) funds research activities, in
conjunction with other federal
agencies, in the Arctic and Antarctic. OPP is requesting $330 million for
FY 2004, an increase of
nearly 9% from last year's request. Of this amount, $262 million will be
for the Polar Research
Program, with the remaining amount going towards Antarctic Logistical
Support Activities.
Included in the MREFC account is $96 million for modernization of the
South Pole station. This
last installment will build upon several years of support to replace the
old station that was built
nearly 30 years ago.
*** NSF Priority Areas ***
At Monday's briefing, NSF Director Colwell also talked about the agency
priorities listed in the
budget. Several of them are crosscutting, multidisciplinary areas such as
Biocomplexity in the
Environment ($100 million), Nanoscale Science and Engineering ($249
million), and Information
Technology Research ($303 million). Funding for these priority areas come
from the directorates.
For these three initiatives, GEO would provide a combined $60 million.
The GEO request
includes $37 million (+67.5%) to support the Biocomplexity in the
Environment initiative with
projects at the interface between living and non-living Earth systems.
Besides priority areas, Colwell also highlighted NSF's request of $200
million for the Math and
Science Partnership program, marking the third installment of a proposed
five year, $1 billion
investment as part of the president's No Child Left Behind Act signed
into law in January 2002.
As part of the administration's Climate Change Research Initiative
(CCRI), NSF has requested
$25 million to support "research to reduce uncertainty in critical areas
of climate change
knowledge and provide timely information to facilitate policy decision."
Some of these funds will
be provided to "advance understanding of abrupt and rapid climate
change." Within GEO, $20
million (+50%) would support CCRI, focusing on Earth's carbon cycle and
complex system
modeling.
*** Additional Budget Information ***
The NSF budget documents provide a wealth of information regarding the
research and
education funded by the foundation, including multi-year trends in
funding and descriptions of
successful past research that is benefiting the nation. The budget
documents are available on the
web at http://www.nsf.gov/home/budget/.
*****************************
Update prepared by Margaret Anne Baker and David Applegate, AGI
Government Affairs
Program.
Sources: National Science Foundation budget documents and briefing.
4444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444
4444
5) PENROSE CONFERENCE
Plume IV: Beyond the Plume Hypothesis
Tests of the Plume Paradigm and Alternatives
A conference to develop innovative new models for volcanic provinces
involving shallow
processes and to design experiments to test them.
August 25th to 29th, 2003
Hveragerdi, Iceland
Topics will include:
*???????What is a plume?
??????*???What is a hotspot?
??????*???What global factors are important?
??????*???What causes volcanic chains?
??????*???Are .hotspots. hot?
??????*???What shallow models are there for .hotspots.?
??????*???Can these do better than the plume hypothesis?
??????*???What is the role of suture zones?
??????*???What can petrology, geochemistry and seismology rule out?
??????*???What genetic model best fits LIPs?
Field Excursions
The conference will include a full day and a half day field excursion,
and an optional, 4-day post-
conference excursion.
Application deadline: May 10th, 2003.
Visit http://www.mantleplumes.org/ or contact one of the conveners for
further information:
G.R. Foulger, University of Durham, U.K/U.S.G.S.
(foulger@swave.wr.usgs.gov)
James H. Natland, University of Miami (jnatland@msn.com)
Don L. Anderson, California Institute of Technology (dla@gps.caltech.edu)
5555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555
5555
6) THE REVEL PROJECT: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SCIENCE TEACHERS TO DO EARTH
AND OCEAN RESEARCH IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN
The Research and Education: Volcanoes, Exploration and Life (REVEL)
Project is inviting highly-
motivated 7-12 grade science teachers who want to bring cutting-edge
earth and ocean research
into their classrooms to apply to the program.
Through the REVEL Project, teachers are immersed in the scientific
process as they explore the
seafloor of the Juan de Fuca Plate in the Northeast Pacific Ocean.
Teachers participate in sea-
going field research alongside scientists and in complementary
professional development
opportunities that help teachers increase their content knowledge, and
enhance their teaching
skills. Members of a network of researchers and education colleagues
passionate about earth
and ocean sciences, REVEL teachers transfer their experience to the
classroom and many
colleagues.
The REVEL Project is partly sponsored by the National Science Foundation
(NSF) - Division of
Ocean Sciences in the Directorate of Geosciences and Division of
Elementary, Secondary, and
Informal Education in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources.
Additional support for
teachers is generously provided by P. Henshaw and the ChevronTexaco Corp.
The program is
facilitated by the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington
in Seattle.
Applications for the 2003 REVEL sea-going season are available at
http://www.ocean.washington.edu/outreach/revel/ and must be postmarked by
28 March 2003.
Applicants must be employed in a K-12 public, private or parochial school
in the United States.
Minority applicants are especially encouraged to apply.
Interested teachers are encouraged to explore the REVEL Web site
http://www.ocean.washington.edu/outreach/revel/ and to apply.
Véronique Robigou
University of Washington
School of Oceanography(206) 543-9282
Box 357940(206) 543-0275 fax
Seattle, WA 98195-7940vero@ocean.washington.edu
REVEL Project: http://www.ocean.washington.edu/outreach/revel/
6666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666
6666
7) POSITION OPENINGS
De Pauw University
Three-year entry-level position in geology
Geology and Geography. DePauw University. Geology. Three-year entry-level
position in
Geology beginning August 2003. Rank and salary commensurate with
credentials and
experience. Candidates broadly trained in geosciences capable of teaching
many courses from
among Physical Geology, Physical Geography, Historical Geology,
Environmental Geoscience,
Sedimentology/Stratigraphy, Oceanography, and a geoscience-related First-
Year Seminar
preferred. The department is housed in newly renovated Julian Science and
Mathematics Center
with excellent facilities to support undergraduate teaching and research.
For more information
about the department, visit http://www.depauw.edu/acad/geology. DePauw
has exceptional
faculty development programs, including funding for conference travel and
professional and
curriculum development activities (see
http://www.depauw.edu/admin/acadaffairs/facdev.htm).
Submit letter of application, curriculum vitae, and contact information
for three references,
transcripts, a statement of teaching interests/philosophy, and a
statement of research interests to
Dr. James G. Mills, Jr., Search Committee Chair, Department of Geology
and Geography,
DePauw University, Greencastle, IN 46135. Review of applications begins
February 1, 2003 and
continues until position is filled. DePauw University is an Equal
Opportunity/Affirmative Action
Employer; Women and Minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.
*****************************
University of Ottawa
Earth Systems Evolution
Faculty Position / Department of Earth Sciences / University of Ottawa.
The Department of Earth
Sciences, University of Ottawa invites applications for a tenure-track
faculty position, beginning
July 1, 2003. We seek a dynamic individual with an exceptional research
record in Earth System
Evolution, using geochemical and isotopic techniques. Applicants must
hold a PhD and must
satisfy the criteria for potential membership in the Canadian Institute
for Advanced Research
. Rank for the hiring is open and competitive start-
up funding will be
available. The Department of Earth Sciences houses the world-class G.G.
Hatch isotope
geochemistry facility .
Information on the department
can be found at . Under the auspices
of the Ottawa-
Carleton Geoscience Centre
, our department
shares a joint graduate studies and research institute with the
Department of Earth Sciences at
nearby Carleton University. The University of Ottawa is a bilingual
(English/ French) institution
and the ability to teach in both languages is considered an asset, though
not a precondition.
Applicants should submit their curriculum vitae, a statement of teaching
and research interests, a
selection of representative reprints, and the names and contact
information for at least three
potential referees to: Chair, Faculty Search Committee, Department of
Earth Sciences, University
of Ottawa, 140 Louis-Pasteur Street, Ottawa, ON K1N6N5, Canada.
Applications should be
received by February 28, 2003. In accordance with Canadian immigration
policies, preference will
be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada; however,
all qualified
candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. Equity is a University
policy.
7777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777
7777
8) CONTACT INFORMATION
To submit an item to E-MAIL NEWS contact: editor@awg.org
To submit advertising contact: ads@awg.org
To change your address or be removed from the list contact:
office@awg.org